Postdoctoral studies in methods development and next generation single cell lineage tracing of skin (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research

The research team

A postdoctoral scholarship is available in the lab of Emma R Andersson at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet.

The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) is a department with a strong focus on basic science. CMB conducts research and education in cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, stem cell biology, cancer and infection biology. CMB is located in Biomedicum, a interdisciplinary research center designed to concentrate much of the experimental research conducted at Karolinska Institutet Campus Solna under one roof to promote collaboration. Biomedicum houses approximately 1,200 researchers and other personnel and allows expensive equipment to be shared and utilized more effectively.

Division/Research group

The Andersson Lab (www.anderssonlab.com) is dedicated to uncovering the mechanisms that guide organ systems to develop their correct cellular identities and architectures. As developmental biologists, we explore why and how genetic mutations lead to specific defects during embryogenesis. Our research emphasizes innovation, as we design novel methods to analyze organ architecture and pioneering technologies to manipulate gene expression and embryonic development in mice (please see de Haan and He et al, Science 2025). Our goal is to advance our understanding of fundamental developmental processes while contributing insights relevant to human health. The lab is supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and the European Research Council (ERC), among others. The Andersson lab is part of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet, located in the BioMedicum Solna campus.

Your mission/Duties

We are seeking a motivated postdoctoral researcher to join an innovative project to decipher the origins of skin cells across body sites. Your aim will be to resolve embryonic cell fate lineages with single cell resolution. The project builds on our establishment of in utero injection to manipulate the nervous system (Mangold et al, 2021), which we applied to barcode lineage tracing (de Haan & He et al, Science 2025; Kameneva & Artemov et al, 2021). The project involves further optimizing and automating in utero nano-injection methods to target multipotent cells at early developmental stages, enabling precise manipulation and lineage tracing of germ layer derivatives. Advanced techniques, including single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and lentiviral barcoding, will be employed to reconstruct lineage trees and uncover cell fate dynamics. The candidate will use existing bioinformatic pipelines to resolve embryonic lineages based on embryonic barcoding, and will be expected to stay at the forefront of next generation single cell lineage tracing. The successful candidate will interact in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment with access to world-class facilities and expertise in developmental biology, genetics, and computational analysis.

Entry requirements

We are seeking an ambitious candidate with a PhD in the field of developmental biology, transcriptomics or similar relevant research area. Skills in the following areas are meritorious: RNA omics, bioinformatics, mouse work (Felasa certification), embryonic dissections, skin biology. However, we are well aware that a postdoc is also about learning and developing new skills, so we are primarily seeking a candidate that will fit the project well, without hard conditions on which skills should be pre-established. A strong and quick capacity to learn, and curiosity, are also meritorious. The applicant should have a high degree of independence and motivation, and also be willing to interact in a team given the collaborative nature of the project.

Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.

A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four-year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.

To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate, or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post-doctoral education.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

Location: Stockholm

Type of scholarship

The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process

An application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)
• A cover letter with a brief description of research interests and what the candidate would like to investigate/develop as a project in the Andersson lab (focused on skin development, 1-2 pages). The description should explain why the candidate is interested in developmental biology and lineage tracing, and which questions the candidate thinks are of interest to address in this project.

The application is to be submitted on the Varbi recruitment system.

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